Why English? - Snow Cake (2006) Discussion

[–] muban 15 years ago

Angela Pell wrote the character with Alan Rickman in mind. As there wasn't an actual need to make him an particular nationality I guess she decided just to leave the character as being English.

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[–] mastermum 15 years ago

Plus the whole thing of him not knowing how big distances were in Canada wouldn't have worked if he was N.American and he was supposed to be pretty buttoned-up and a bit repressed which as we all know is more of an English trait;)

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[–] dudewheresmysanity03 15 years ago

More of a STEREOTYPICAL English trait, anyway...

"See You Next Wednesday"

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[–] m_n_m 15 years ago

The filmakers were mostly British?

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[–] Asta-19 15 years ago

Why shouldn't he be English ... it isn't an American film, so the English actor didn't have to be the baddie for a change, which is somewhat refreshing.

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[–] hummingman 15 years ago

I think it is because the film shows Rickman coming to terms with Vivienne's and his son's death, which is contradicted by the typical English reserve and buttoning up of emotion and difficult issues

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[–] eeyorerocks 15 years ago

I loved that he was English in an "English" speaking country. With the undercurrent of Autism,misunderstandings, and social complications, it was perfect that he didn't quite speak the exact same language; just as a person with Autism may be able to speak their "native" language and yet miss out on some of the complexities of the language (sarcasm, idioms).

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[–] daycentre 15 years ago

It made him an outsider - like Linda, Vivienne and Maggie

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[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jazzandmint 14 years ago

I couldn't agree more. The element of being from another country, another continent, probably helped add a sense of uneasiness to Alex's character. He's in unfamiliar territory both literally and figuratively. I thought it worked just fine in the context of the story.

Decorate yourself from the inside out. -Andrei Turnhollow

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[–] Prismark10 14 years ago

As it was a BBC films co production, a UK film star was always likely to be up for a major role.

Its that man again!!

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